I was at a writing workshop this past week, writing a ton of fiction. We don’t “critique” each other’s stories in this writing workshop. Only the instructor can offer us feedback. Yet, we all struggled with how to judge whether our stories or writing were “good.” Writing is not about “goodness.” We can all use
How Can You Use What’s Remarkable About You to Create an Even Better Life? Read More »
How often have people asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up? (Some of us have asked ourselves this question even though we’re supposedly grown up.) But that question hides a critical assumption: that what we want to be will give us the lives we want to have. Too often, I see people
Let’s Change the Question from What We Want to Be to the Lives We Want to Have Read More »
I listened to Tim Harford’s podcast, La La Land: Galileo’s Warning (Classic). Galileo warned that adding more layers of risk management does not prevent bad outcomes—and might create them. Yet, I’ve said I respect risk management. Not all risk management is created equal. We can use additional steps, sequential occurrences, to manage risks. Layers are the concurrent practices we might
How Many Layers Do You Add to Manage Risks? Read More »
By now, you’ve probably heard about various AI apps and how they’re coming for your jobs. Some of my colleagues love these apps and work with them. Other colleagues won’t touch them. I’m experimenting with ChatGPT for marketing copy. So far, it’s pretty good. But for my regular nonfiction or fiction writing or images? I’m
How Can We Remain Relevant When New Technology Threatens Our Jobs and Lives? Read More »
My husband, Mark, momentarily lost his keys this morning. Except, it wasn’t just a moment—it was about five minutes. He planned to load several items into the car, return to the house to kiss me goodbye, and then leave. Except, he was stuck on Step 1, loading items into the car. We have other car
When Do You Assist, Support, or Inflict Help? Read More »
I’ve participated in two panels in the past few weeks: one about agile approaches and the other about management. In each case, my fellow panelists echoed each other for several questions, thinking alike. I did not. Not only did I disagree with the other panelists—I explained my claims with data. I thought differently. And because
Great Minds: When Do We Gain from Thinking Alike or Differently? Read More »
I read a terrific piece by Hannah Fry that women don’t excel at math because of sexism. Sexism! Not innate or learned ability. Sexism. When I was a kid, the culture “said” that women couldn’t do math. However, I had two immediate examples that women were great at math. My mom could remember duplicate bridge hands
How Can We Learn to Belong to New Communities? Read More »
When the pandemic started, I was fine—better than fine—staying home. I felt safe and secure. Mark did the grocery shopping and cooking, and we spent a ton of time together. All good stuff. I was happy with limited horizons. However, after I received my first booster, I wanted to go out—and I was still concerned.
When Do You Realize It’s Time to Expand Your Horizons? Read More »
Do you ever make the same mistake twice or realize that mistake somehow feels familiar? Many of us fall into patterns that allow us to recreate those mistakes—even when we don’t want to. However, we can learn from our history. When we do learn from our history, we can increase our chances of succeeding now.
How Can You Learn from Your History to Succeed Now? Read More »
I’m at that age where people ask me when I plan to retire. I continue to say I plan to evolve what I do—just like Serena Williams. Ms. Williams retired from tennis this week, saying she would evolve to what’s next. What does this evolution require? We must see our reality and assess our various capabilities. Then,
How Can You Know When Your “Best” Days Are Behind You So You Can Evolve? Read More »